One of the most deadly forms of heart arrhythmias is ventricular fibrillation, which occurs when the normal, regular electrical impulses are replaced by irregular and rapid impulses, causing the heart muscle to stop normal contractions and to begin to quiver. Normal blood flow ceases, and organ damage or death may result in minutes if normal heart contractions are not restored. Although frequently not noticeable to the victim, ventricular fibrillation is often preceded by ventricular tachycardia, which is a regular but fast rhythm of the heart. Because the victim has no noticeable warning of the impending fibrillation, death often occurs before the necessary medical assistance can arrive.
Because time delays in applying the corrective electrical treatment may result in death, pacemakers and defibrillators have significantly improved the ability to treat these otherwise life-threatening conditions. Normal heart function often can be restored to a person suffering ventricular fibrillation or ventricular tachycardia by a procedure known as cardioversion, the synchronized application of electrical therapy to the heart muscle. Pacemakers and defibrillators that apply corrective electrical pulses externally to the patient's chest wall also are used to correct such life-threatening arrhythmias, but suffer from a drawback insofar as it may not be possible to apply the device in time during an acute arrhythmic emergency to save the patient's life. Such treatment is needed within a few minutes to be effective.
Consequently, when a patient is deemed at high risk of death from such arrhythmias, electrical devices often are implanted so as to be readily available when treatment is needed. However, patients that have recently had a heart attack or are awaiting such an implantable device may be kept in a hospital where corrective electrical therapy is generally close at hand. Long-term hospitalization is frequently impractical due to its high cost, or due to the need for patients to engage in normal daily activities.
Wearable defibrillators have been developed for patients that have recently experienced cardiac arrest, that are susceptible to heart arrhythmias and are at temporary risk of sudden death, and that are awaiting an implantable device. However, some wearable defibrillators may incorporate direct connections between the wearable defibrillator and the electrodes worn by the patient, which can make it difficult to efficiently replace the electrode, or may incorporate large and bulky connectors that are difficult to manipulate and interfere with the patient's movement.
Accordingly, a need exists for an improved connector assembly for connecting a cardiac monitoring and/or treatment device such as a wearable defibrillator to one or more cardiac monitoring and/or therapeutic electrodes worn by the patient.